Israel Joins Physics Research Lab, CERN

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Israel became the 21st member state of CERN, the Geneva,
Switzerland-based collaboration that runs underground particle
accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider.

The Israeli flag joined those from 20 other nations in a ceremony
today (Jan. 15), after UNESCO officially recognized the new
country as a member of CERN, or the European Organization for
Nuclear Research. Israel is the first new member of the
organization since 1999.

"The Israeli scientific community has brought a great deal to
CERN over the years," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. "I
am looking forward to welcoming Israel as our 21st Member State
and to intensifying our collaboration."

The new state's induction comes after a 2010 decision to increase
the number of member states at CERN. Before becoming a full
member of CERN, Israel had to become an associate member, a
status that lacks the full range of rights and responsibilities
of full member states. The full member states bear more of the
costs of operating and building CERN's big projects, and they
also can weigh in on important decisions about future priorities.

Currently, Serbia is also an associate member, and Cyprus and
Ukraine should become associate members once their parliaments
sign on. Several other countries, including Pakistan and Turkey,
have also applied for associate membership.

All of the other member states are in Europe, though the United
States and other non-European countries have observer status,
meaning they can go to the meetings, but don't get to weigh in on
final decisions.